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Summary of responses to the Local Government Finance Green paper
Please note that percentages represent the share of those responses that comment on a particular issue, rather than the share of all responses.
Reforming the revenue grant system
- There was a range of useful suggestions for improving the explicability of the system.
- Authorities were positive about greater predictability in grant changes and suggested ways that this could lead to longer term decision making and better partnership working.
- 89% of respondents supported ‘floors’ on changes to grant distribution and 56% supported ‘ceilings’.
- Views on whether the formula moratorium should be extended were polarised. Two thirds of local authorities were prepared to accept an extension. However, almost all responses from the education sector called for an end to the freeze.
- 74% of respondents supported the introduction of ‘safety valve’ grant.
- 80% of respondents opposed the introduction of a plan-based approach to grant distribution.
Capital Investment and Borrowing
- 97% of respondents strongly supported the proposed abolition of credit approvals and move to a prudential system.
- Over 90% agreed that the proposed safeguards under the prudential system would be sufficient to protect national and local taxpayers and well as private finance deals and partnership working.
- There was also support for the idea of providing government support for capital investment through capital grants rather than revenue support for borrowing.
Taxes and Charges
- 96% of respondents supported a fixed cycle for council tax revaluations.
- Many authorities suggested ways to increase local accountability by making council tax bills clearer but most opposed the idea of transferring billing responsibility to county councils in shire areas.
- Over three quarters of local government responses were broadly in favour of the supplementary rate, with many of the remainder undecided. 86% of ratepayers were opposed.
- Over 80% of respondents supported the proposals for small business rate relief and over 70% of respondents agreed that the small business rate relief should be extended to non-profit making sports clubs.
- There was majority support for the Local Tax Re-investment Programme, extra urban rate relief and the proposed extension of rural rate relief.
- 97% supported the proposals on business rate revaluation.
Education
- 14,402 of the total 15,410 responses to the education section of the Green Paper. represented a campaign from parents, teachers and schools from the Fair Funding Forum (f40). They strongly supported the ‘levelling up’ of the worst funded authorities but opposed the proposal for an extension to the formula freeze.
- The main comments from the remaining 1,008 responses were as follows:
Ensuring funding is properly matched to the to the separate responsibilities of local authorities and schools
- 68% said that there should be no variation of funding across local education authorities (LEAs).
- 43% supported the green paper proposal to distribute resources by identifying a basic entitlement per primary and secondary pupil, plus enhancements for deprivation and the recruitment and retention of staff.
- 31% agreed with the Government’s proposal to assess and separately identify the aggregate funding for schools at both national and local level.
Ensuring funds allocated by central Government are used for that purpose
- 79% of respondents supported the green paper proposal for greater transparency.
- 39% supported the proposal that LEAs should give their council taxpayers and schools a full account of their expenditure.
Ensuring a fair allocation of funding between authorities and between schools in authorities to reflect needs
- 80% said that the Government should provide additional funding for the levelling up of the worst funded authorities to the national average level.
- 41% called for all LEAs to be funded at the current average level from April 2001.
Other services and authorities
- Most respondents supported the retention of a single finance system for all authorities.
Further comments
- 175 responses commented on the balance between central and local funding of local government expenditure, mostly in support of the idea that local authorities should be able to raise a greater proportion of their own income from their own resources’.
- Over 90% of local government responses favoured a greater power to charge and sought further freedom from centrally set charges.
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